During the Clippers’ 102-94 win over the Lakers Saturday night, while Kobe Bryant was shooting his way out of an early game slump on his way to 42 points on 28 shots, Chris Paul was slicing and dicing for 33 of his own on 22 shots. Paul was a monster against the Lakers, and the biggest reason that the Clippers walked away with yet another win versus “Big Brother.” But there was bad news, too. After Paul nailed yet another jumper late in the fourth quarter, he came down with a strained hamstring and would not return.

It’s not known at this point whether Paul will play Monday for the Clippers vs. New Jersey, but if there was ever a game for him to sit out… Despite the regrettable element of missing Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams, the Clippers could very well have no problem dispatching the Nets without CP3.

Saturday was a game that showed off all of Paul’s offensive tricks, even as he “only” totaled six assists. The Lakers worked to shut down Blake Griffin on the pick and roll and Griffin did his part by missing a large number of open jumpers as he continues to try and pull the defense out by hurting them from range. But Paul responded by simply slithering inside or crossing over his defender to hit from the middle of the floor, to devastating effect. It was his consistent, efficient scoring that lead the Clippers and opened up opportunities for the entire Clippers team, while Bryant’s gunning once again seemed to slog down the Lakers’ offense.

Rip Hamilton pulled a hamstring last month, and has now missed 8 games (and counting). Something doesn’t feel right about that. Who misses a freaking month with a hamstring? Guys come back with broken legs faster than that.